Bill-file.



PATENTED MAR. a, 1904}- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. L. BURGESS; BILL FILE. APPLIOATIOH FILED APR.13, 1903.

I 7 I aAHorgzys ivggiigzssc ,GEORGE'LEWIS BURGESS,

Patented March 8, 1904.

or GOODLAND, QINDIA A. Y

B lLL -F lLEp SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed April 13, 1903.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE LEwIs BURGESS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Goodland, in the county of Newton and State of Indiana, have. invented a new and useful Bill? File, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to bill files or cabinets,

I and more particularly to that class of devices employed to preserve papers, such as accounts, bills, letters, receipts, &c.'; and the object of the same is to construct a cabinet wherein said papers may be kept and arranged in any desired manner as may be most convenient to the owner and at the same time provide a ready and easy access to any desired account, &c.

- To this endmy invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of the several parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar numerals designate like parts throughout the several views. I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet with the cover closed; Fig. 2, a perspective viewwith the cover open with someof the accounts clampedin position; Fig. *3, a vertical section of Fig. 2; Fig. 4;, a vertical section of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 a top plan View of the upper extremities of the side members or standards.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the side members of a substantially rectangularshaped framework, each of which is provided in its front edge near the upper end thereof with-a slot or notch 2 for a purpose hereinafter set forth. Secured between the side members 1 and at ashort distance above the lower extremities 3 is a base or support 4, which extends from the rear edges 5 toward the front of the frame, but terminates some distance shortthereof, and in thefront edge 6 of said base or support t is a cavity or. aperture 7 for the reception of an ink-well or any suitable writing fluid; Said cavity is preferably obliquely disposed and located nearthe longi: tudinal central point ofsaid base or support. The numeral 8 designates'screwsor nails which pass through the side members 1 from Patent No. 753,849, dated March 8, 1904..

Serial No. 152,366. (No niodel.)

purpose of supporting and holding the latter securely in position, and 9 is a strip or cleat,

of any suitable material, secured to the rear of thebase 4 in any desired manner, said strip or cleat' being provided with a plurality of openings '10, through which nails or screws may be passed into any suitable support for holding thecabinet in position. The upper ends of the side members 1 are bent inward -for a short distance toward each other, as at 11, over a transverse bar 12, secured between the standards at the upper corners of the rear edges thereof.

oted between the standards 1 near its base 14L by means of the pivots 15 andis provided in its extreme upper edge with a transverse longitudinal groove 16,- adapted to receive a pen or pencil, and 17 is one of a pair of lugs or pins projecting from the edges of the cover adapted to enter the notches or slots 2 in the front edges of the standards 1 when the cover is closed, the lower extremity thereof abutting against the front edge 6 ofthe base or support 4:.

18 is a metallic strip or latch-piece secured 'by one end to the front 'face'of l the cover 13 by means of the pins orstaples 19 in such a manner as to permit said latch to have a free and easy swinging movement.

and parallel to the edges vof the cover to form guides for the reception of a card, upon which may be placed any desired matter, such as anindex, to serve as a guide or directory to the contents of the cabinet, and the free end 21 of said strip is diagonally disposed in relation to its body portion. A cavity or recess 22 is provided in the front face of the cover "13 tending slightly above the plane 'of' the face of the cover and against which the laltchg18 is. adapted to rest whensaid latch is raised. It

is to be understood that althoughl have shown a'coil-spring mounted in this particular man- The edges 20 thereof are bent inward toward eachother" 50 the outside thereof and into the base 4 for the her I-do not necessarily limit myself to this O specific construction, as any form of spring mounted in any desired manner may be employed provided said spring stands within the path of the upward movement of the latch and is adapted to rest against the latch.

Secured across the upper part of the framework between the standards or members 1 and .slightly in advance of but parallel to the bar 12 is a strip or second bar 25, which serves to form a guide between the two bars for the reception of the downwardly-turned end 26 of the clip or clamp 27. The forward end 28 of said clamp is also bent downward, but for a shorter distance than the end 26 and substantially parallel thereto, and said shorter end 28 is adapted to hook over the upper end 21 of the latch 18 when the said latch is raised against the spring 23. In order to bring the end 21 of the latch 18 into proper position to permit the end 28 to pass thereover, it is necessary to exert a pressure upon the spring 24-, which pressure tends to hold the cover 13 securely in position when raised, thus locking said cabinet closed. 29 designates a handle by means of which the clip 27 may be operated.

A backing 30, of cardboard or any other suitable material, provided with a flange 31, extending around its edges, and a projecting portion 32, is placed between the standards or members 1, so that the flange on the lower edge abuts against the front face of the strip 9 and the projecting portion 32 against the bar or strip 25 near the upper end of the cabinet. Said backing may be provided with a plurality of straps 33 or pockets 34:, secured to its rear facefor the reception of any desired matter-such as pamphlets,circulars, &c. Placed within the cabinet between the back 30 and the front or cover 13, with their lower edges resting upon the base or support 4, are a plurality of fillers or boards 35, between which the bills, accounts, &c., are kept. The upper ends of said boards are beveled, as at 36, to permit the same to readily pass beneath the end 28 of the clip 27 when the latter is slightly raised. These fillers or boards 35 may be arranged in any manner found to be most convenient; but I desire to arrange them so that every fifth board or partition shall be marked by some distinguishing color, such as red or any other color to suit the fancy of the owner. The index-card carried by the latch-piece 18 is also correspondingly markedthat is, ared or distinguishing mark 37 is placed between the names on the card to correspond to the arrangement of the division or partition boards 35. With this arrangement the proper account can be readily found, as the index will indicate that the proper account is either the first, second, or third, &c., before or after the first, second, or third, &,c., red division or partition board 35.

Having thus fully described the construction of my invention, the operation of the same is as follows: Assuming the cabinet to be in a closed or locked position, the indexcard inserted in the card-holder on the latch 18 and the filler or separating-boards 35 labeled to agree with said index, and it is desired to enter an account or inspect a certain bill after the same has been found on the index, the operator grasps the handle 29 of the clip 27 and tilts the rear end upward, rocking it on the front end 28 until the downturned portion 26 becomes disengaged from between the bars 12 and 25. The action of the spring upon the latch 18 will cause the clip to be drawn forward. After the desired account is found, which can be done by means of the opening just uncovered by the clip, the end 26 is passed just behind the filler or partition-board 35, located in front of the account desired, and the cover is then lowered, turning on the pivot pins 15 until its lower end 14 passes beneath the base or support 4, which holds the cover in a horizontal position, with the desired account exposed and securely held beneath the clip 27. The whole then serves as a ledge or writing-support. The clip 27 and also the inturned ends 11 of the side members 1 will hold and retain the pen or pencil within the groove 16 when not in use. After the proper entry has been made the cover is raised, and when nearly in a closed position the rear end of the clip is again raised, the cover is pushed into position, and the end 26 of the clip passed between the bars 12 and 25, thus locking the cabinet closed. Should it be desired togain access to the pockets on the rear face of the back, the entire contents are lowered in the same manner, as fully illustrated in Fig. 3.

It isto be understood that although I have minutely described my invention yet I do not desire to limit myself to the specific form of construction and arrangement of the several parts, as various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A filing-cabinet comprising a framework, a cover pivoted thereto, a latch loosely connected by one end to the face of the cover and intermediate the ends thereof, a compressible member also secured to the cover and adapted to be engaged by the latch, and means removably engaging the free end of the latch and the framework to exert a tension upon said compressible member.

2. A filing-cabinet comprising a framework, a cover pivoted thereto, a latch pivoted by one end to the cover, and having its free end obliquely disposed to the plane of its body portion, a spring secured to the cover within the path of the movement of the latch and a clip adapted to removablyengage the oblique end of the latch and the framework for exerting a pressure on said spring.

3. A filing-cabinet comprising a framework,

a cover pivoted thereto, a latch loosely connected by one end to the cover, a compressible member standing within the path of the movement of said latch, and a clip engaging the latch and the contents of the cabinet, the

pressure of the compressible member being exerted to clamp the said contents in position.

4:. A device of the class described comprising a framework, a cover pivoted to the front of the framework, a latch loosely pivoted by oneend to the cover, a card-holder formed on said latch, a clip engaging the freeend of said latch and the framework, and means for exerting an outward pressure on said latch.

5. A device of the class described comprising a framework, a, guide formed near the upper end'thereof, a clip provided with downwardly-extending ends and a cover pivoted to the framework, one end of said clip engaging the cover and the other end adapted to engage said guide for holding the cover in a closed position. v

,6. A filing-cabinet comprising a framework, a cover pivoted to the front thereof and extending a short distance below the base of the same, the lower extremity of the cover being adaptedto pass beneath and rest against the lower face of the base to support said cover in an open position, a transverse longitudinal groove in the free extremity thereof, adapted to be closed by the top of the framework when the cover is. closed, and means for holding said cover closed.

7. A device of the class described consisting of a framework comprising spaced side members, the upper extremities thereof being bent at an angle to the body portion and toward each other to form the top thereof, a base secured between the side members near their lower extremities, said base terminating short of the front of said side members and being provided in its front edge with a cavity, and a cover pivoted between the side members near their lower extremities, the pivot-points of the cover being located below the base of the framework and to permit the cover to abut against the front edge of the base when in a closed position.

, 8. A device of the class described comprising side members, a bar secured between the same near theirlower ends, and a second bar secured near their upper ends, the upper extremities of the side members being bent inward over said bar, and terminating short of each other to form the top of the cabinet, a second bar secured acrossthe upper end of the side members parallel with but located a short distance in front of the first bar, a clip having its extremities bent at approximately a right angle to its body portion, one of which is adapted to move between the parallel bars, and a-cov'er pivoted to the front of the side members andadapted to engage the other end of the clip.

9. A filing cabinet comprising a base and side members, the upper end of the side members being bent inward and terminating short of each other, and a transverse supporting-bar secured beneath the inturned'ends, a cover pivoted near its lower extremity to the front of the side members, the upper end thereof being-adapted to pass beneaththe inturned ends of the same, and a clip, engaging the supporting-bar, and standing between the free extremities of the side members to form a top for the cabinet and engage the front cover when the latter is closed.

10. Adevice of the classdescribed comprising a framework, acover pivoted to the front thereof, and means for holding said cover in an open or closed position, a removable back inserted in said framework, said back being provided with a rearwardly-extending peripheral flange, receptacles carried by the rear face of the back within the flange and means carried by the framework for preventing the displacement of said back.

11. A device of the class described comprising a framework, and a cover pivoted to the front thereof, transverse bars secured to the rear of the framework near its upper and lower extremity, a removable back provided with rearwardly-projecting flanges, the lower- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afl ixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE LEWIS BURGESS.

Witnesses: I

ELMER R. BRINGHAM, FRANK DAvIs. 

